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@yolos wrote:38 days between these two pictures. No turning pile or touching it at all. Those boards on front are 5.5 inches high. There were originally 7 boards. Now there are only 4 boards. So it decreased 16.5 inches so it was actually a 43% reduction in height over a 38 day period. Partially due to settling and partially due to decomposition.

WOW NO TURNING!!! That is impressive. I thought the only way to get compost that quickly was to TURN, TURN, TURN.

it's about 1/2 full with kitchen scraps, paper shavings from the guinea pig cage, and some grass clippings. It's a pain in the ass to turn the stuff over. I have one of these weed loosening tools, and I can turn it a bit but can't bring up the stuff from the bottom.

Right now I like it as a place to dump scraps instead of filling a garbage bag, but that's about it.

Built this out of some cedar fence boards and redwood 2x4 a couple months ago and it's about half full now. It's about 3' on all dimensions. Turning the goods with a pitchfork is still a bit of a hassle though so I just ordered a wing digger aerator today. Hope that makes the maintenance a bit easier and effective. I plan to build a second bin just like it and next to it either late this fall or early next spring.

Trying this out again, since apparently my first reply above didn't post the image successfully, even though I could see it (can't see it anymore myself). I had the image hosted in my Google photos account and just used the share by "Get Link" option there, copied the URL given, and pasted that into the URL field of the "Insert Image" option here. Apparently that doesn't work, so I just now downloaded it and used the "Host" image option now. I'll just copy and paste my initial reply here:

Built this out of some cedar fence boards and redwood 2x4 a couple months ago and it's about half full now. It's about 3' on all dimensions. Turning the goods with a pitchfork is still a bit of a hassle though so I just ordered a wing digger aerator today. Hope that makes the maintenance a bit easier and effective. I plan to build a second bin just like it and next to it either late this fall or early next spring.

I got the idea from another image I saw of a design just like it on the Internet, but was built with bigger pieces of framing lumber. They claimed it was to help catch more rain water. I don't know how effective it is for doing that, as it doesn't seem to be that great for that since any extra water caught with that would be very minimal I'm thinking, but I do like that the angled slats ensures all the compost bits stay contained in the bin as I'm fluffing it up with my new Wingdigger tool. The slats are easy enough to remove when it's time to harvest some from the bottom. I like it.

I have a question about my compost process. Thought I'd add to this thread since I took a series of pics.

I started adding yard clippings, garden scraps, and cardboard to my bin this summer in batches as they became available. I sprinkled compost starter over the garden scraps. The pile would get bigger and warm up but then go down and cool. So I decided to fill the whole bin to get the optimal 3' x 3' mass so I could get the pile hotter.

This is the compost bin on Friday:

On Saturday I picked up three bags of garden clippings that another gardener in town gave me. Before adding the new material I dug out what was in the bin, mixed it up, and put it all back in batches with the new material. I also gradually added water, which ended up being 4 gallons. (I also added some pineapple I hadn't gotten around to eating.) After the bin was full, I inserted the thermometer and crossed my fingers:

I went out there today and 24 hours later we're in the "steady" zone!

As the pile goes down over the fall and winter, I'll keep adding kitchen scraps and also the shredded leaves I stockpile (from my little yard and my friends' bigger yards!) that I'll keep in a big plastic garbage can nearby. I expect I'll also need to keep clipping the new material into smaller pieces as I have time.

Hoping that by spring, the bin will be full of compost. Do you think this reasonable to expect? Would you do anything differently?

Colleen that bin looks like my SoilSaver bin that I have been using successfully for years. My SoilSaver measures 24"W x 24"D x 28"H which translates into 9.3 cubic feet if filled to the top. On the other hand a 3'x'3'x3' bin is 27 cubic feet of material. In other words a true 3x3x3 has way more volume (in my case 3 times as much).

Last Fall I built a true 3x3x3 and it works better (gets hotter and stays hot longer) than the Soilsaver. In fact, 3'x3'x3' is the recommended minimum size for hot composting. The SoilSaver works but it takes longer. I get good compost out of it. I have often used it as a continuous composter, feeding it additional kitchen scraps, etc. on a regular basis and then after a while (usually over the winter) leaving it to digest the material.

I have been measuring/graphing temps in my various compost bins for comparisons on the following thread.

Hey, TD, thanks! I'm a little ! I bought the bin and then learned about the 3'x3'x3' rule and then looked at the bin and thought oh, that looks about right! LOL. Oh well. I'm very glad to hear that you have used it successfully and you've confirmed my prediction that it will work fine for a spring "harvest" of compost. Now I'll look for another spot for a true 3'x3'x3'. Most of the rest of the available space in my yard is rather shady, though. Hmmmm will have to think this through.